Hogwarts After Harry
by asuitcasefullofstars
Summary: The Epilogue Continues! Albus Potter journeys to Hogwarts and discovers his destiny as a Gryffindor- and also discovers his true friends. Everybody knows that when at Hogwarts, adventures abound!
1. The Hogwarts Express Again!

Albus Potter smiled and waved out the window at his parents as they held hands, beaming up at him and jogging after his little sister, Lily, as she ran beside the train waving goodbye.

He was starting his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, glad to finally be on the rumbling train after having to endure James's impressive stories for two whole years. As he watched his family's faces, now including Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione and his younger cousin Hugo, fade from view, his stomach rumbled and he turned back to his compartment to dig around in his bag for a snack.

Albus pulled out Aunt Luna's gurdyroot infusion with a look of disgust on his face, exclaiming loudly to Rose.  
"How did Aunt Luna manage to slip some of this in here? Mum even put a Sealing Spell on my rucksack!"

Rose laughed and looked up just in time to see the compartment door slide open and a familiar face poke in.

Aria Scamander poked her head in. "Oh good, I just finished my bottle from Mum. You don't mind me having yours, do you, Al, seeing as you hate it? Thanks. I drank mine very quickly today, I thought I felt a Wrackspurt fluttering around somewhere earlier."

A few first years passed by, gagging at the smell of the infusion and glaring judgmentally at Aria.  
"Only repellent for Wrackspurts, you know!" she shouted at them as they continued down the corridor.

Aria proceeded to drop into the seat next to Albus, who promptly lost his appetite at the stench from the open bottle. Instead, he took out his wand from his rucksack and reflected on the moment it had chosen him.

Only yesterday, Mum, Dad, Lily and James had accompanied Albus to Diagon Alley. Though he had been many times before, it felt different somehow, more jarring and eye-opening, the signal of some new beginning in his life.

After buying new robes and picking up his books, including some which his mum and dad even recognized such as _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One_ by Miranda Goshawk and _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot, Albus had ventured into The Magical Menagerie with James. He had thought that he only wanted an owl, like the family screech owl, Homer, but his Aunt Hermione had persuaded him to at least take a look at the other animals in the Menagerie as well.

He had taken a liking to the nifflers, but James told him they were banned at Hogwarts. Instead, he bought a pretty female Siamese cat for seven Galleons, which he named Juno. James already had a rat named Frederick, so they agreed to split the cost of a tawny owl for five Galleons apiece, naming him Eliot.

Finally, the time had come for Albus to find his wand- or rather, for the wand to find him.

The family approached Ollivander's, and as Albus stepped inside, he heard the tinkle of a bell overhead and the glittering whoosh of sparks erupting from the wand of a boy standing in front of him.

The wand had just chosen a young wizard of about fifteen, who James called out to in greeting.  
"Aidan, hi! Getting a new wand, huh?"

"Oh, hullo, James," said the young man with a thick Irish accent. "Yup, me wand broke a few days ago- got into a spot o' trouble with the grindylows in me family's loch, yeh see. Lucky I escaped, but me wand weren't so lucky. Anyway, better get goin'. Gotta get a new broomstick, the better to Chase with, eh?"

After shaking hands with Albus's mum and dad, the young man named Aidan strode out the door and down the road.

Albus watched him go, intrigued at the mention of Quidditch, until he heard a throat clear behind him and turned to see his family and Ollivander waiting expectantly.

"Albus, I presume? Of course, quite, a wand for you, come this way..." Ollivander spoke softly and with what seemed like wonder in his voice, but what Albus soon recognized as a flittiness and airiness. As he walked, Ollivander craned his head to peer down aisles, sometimes allowing his body to continue onward and pull his head back to join it, or else walking quickly ahead and then retracing his steps until he appeared to finally recognize the aisle he had been looking for.

"Right then, my boy, down here, if you will, and stand here..." Ollivander reached up and took down several boxes, opening the first one and handing a short, reddish-colored wand to Albus.

"Go on then, try it out- oh no, nevermind, try this one here, maybe... no, no, this one..." After each wand was handed to Albus, he waved or flicked it, and it either jumped out of his hand or fired off a richoteting spell.

Finally, after they had moved through three more aisles and Albus had tried maybe twenty wands, Ollivander presented him with a nondescript-looking box, the most beat-up box so far. Ollivander stared intently at him as he had done through each testing, but focused on the wand each time, not on Albus.

Albus opened the box and took out the wand. It fit nicely in his hand and he didn't feel stupid or clumsy waving it around, as he had with the previous wands. He gave it a little swoosh, and a shower of golden sparks burst out, prompting a nod from Ollivander, a whoop of his own, and the hurrying footsteps of his family.

"Ah yes! Chestnut wood with core of phoenix feather, eleven and a quarter inches, reasonably springy! Quite an interesting wand. This wand was, in fact, previously owned, unlike many others in my shop. Interesting, interesting... it was owned, in fact, by none other than Iolanthe Peverell, yes, the granddaughter of Ignotus... I daresay your father has told you of the Peverells? No? Interesting... Well, she was quite the lover of animals and an inspiring young lady, yes."

At the end of Ollivander's sentence, Ginny Potter burst round the corner of the aisle. "Oh, Albus, how wonderful! You've found your wand at last!"

"Yeah, at long last," said James, coming round the corner with a teasing grin on his face.

Albus smiled. A wand! He was ready to practice the spells he'd heard James muttering right then and there, but his dad chose that moment to envelope him in a crushing hug.

"Careful, Dad, don't snap my wand already!" Albus said, although his words were somewhat muffled by his father's arms.

Later, he had asked his father about the Peverells, but his father, after a surprised glance at Albus, had replied with the standard "You'll learn when you're older."

Back on the train to Hogwarts, Albus shook himself out of his reverie. "Hey, Aria, know any simple spells I could try?" he asked the second year.

"Sure!" she replied, pulling out her own black walnut and unicorn hair wand. Rose also extracted her own applewood and phoenix feather wand.

First, Aria shut the door and drew the curtains on the door and windows. Then, she turned off all the lights in the compartment and sat back down, the compartment now apparently satisfactorily dark.

Then she raised her wand and said, "Lumos!" Her wand tip immediately produced a bright light.

Albus and Rose excitedly tried to copy her. Whereas Rose achieved a soft glow on her first try, Albus achieved a bright light on his third.

They heard footsteps outside their compartment, and someone knocked on the door.

"Nox!" whispered Aria, and Albus and Rose followed suit.

Aria got up, turned on the lights and unlocked the door to face James and a few of his friends.

James looked a little surprised at Aria's presence and said, "Hi, Aria, Albus, Rose, I've just come to tell you we'll be stopping soon. Better put on your robes."

Someone behind him sniggered and whispered loudly, "You know Airy Aria, James? Daughter of Loony Lovegood?"

James turned to face his mocker. "Of course I do, Samuel. Family friend. You'd do well to learn from some of her aloofness, I noticed you consorting with a couple of Slytherin girls a few minutes ago. Pretty, sure, but slippery, aren't they?"

The rest of his friends laughed and Samuel looked mortified. Meanwhile, Aria beamed at James's retreating back.

Albus, Rose and Aria quickly tugged on their robes and Albus returned Juno, whom he had been allowing to roam around the compartment, back to her basket. She meowed protestingly but licked his restraining hand affectionately.

Just as he latched her in, he felt the train lurch and grind to a halt. They had arrived at Hogwarts.


	2. Fast Friends

Albus hurried off the train along with Rose and Aria. As he stepped onto the platform, he accidentally bumped into a girl with long blonde hair and musical dangly earrings.

"Sorry," he muttered, and as she walked away scowling, her hair changed color to bright red, the sign of a Metamorphmagus.

As he stared after her, startled, he heard the loud clanging of a bell and looked up to see Hagrid, a friend of his dad's. He had quite a bit more gray hair than when he'd been round for Christmas dinner, but his deep voice still echoed loudly.

"Firs' years over 'ere! Firs' years follow me!" Hagrid called, waving his lantern and his bell. Albus and Rose hurried over to stand beside several other timid-looking first years. "Albus! Rose! Good ter see ya both. Don' forget abou' tea this Friday, eh?"

After assuring Hagrid they would not forget, Rose and Albus joined the throng of students around him. One, the Metamorphmagus from earlier, shifted a little further away as Albus stood next to her, but introduced herself smilingly to Rose.

"Joy Verafina," she said, and shook Rose's hand. "Know what House you'll be in?"

As Rose chattered away to Joy, discussing her family's lineage of Gryffindor and her admiration of the House, Albus felt a knot growing in his stomach. What if he was Sorted into Slytherin? Firstly, he would feel so out of place there. Secondly, he didn't want to leave Rose- they had been close as siblings since birth and knew each other so well they didn't even have to talk to communicate. Albus worried for a few more minutes, letting himself sink into that despair.

Then, Scorpius Malfoy walked up, straggling behind a large group of very intimidating first years. He detached from his group to stand next to Albus, and they stood there for a few minutes before Scorpius spoke.

"Harry Potter's son, right?" he asked. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

Albus resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. "Yes. I wish everyone would learn my name though. It's Albus. And I already knew who you were."

"Guess our dads don't have the greatest track record, huh?" he said. "Whatever. Let bygones be bygones, and all that. I for one hope I'm not in Slytherin, just to spite my dad. Terrible people, Slytherins."

Albus stared. Could it be possible that they would switch places in their House lineage? As this thought entered his head, however, Hagrid starting moving the first years toward a small herd of boats with lanterns on the prow.

"Four to a boat!" he shouted. "No more or it'll sink like did Dennis Creevey's so long ago..."

With this foreboding, Albus, Scorpius, Rose and Joy piled in a boat. As soon as the last first year had gotten in, the boats magically sped off across the lake. As they rode, the fog lifted, and the students were confronted with an enchanting sight.

A huge castle rose up from the bank, turreted and gabled with several huge towers presiding over the school. All the windows were lit, and flickering lanterns hung on either side of the enormous front doors. Albus had seen pictures of the castle right after the Battle of Hogwarts, and it seemed the castle was back to normal, completely repaired.

As Albus tore his gaze away from the castle, he realized that Scorpius and Rose were now chatting.

"Personally, my favorite Quidditch team is the Falmouth Falcons," Scorpius was saying. "They used to be terrible in my father's day, but now they're on the rise with Gregory Hornby as Seeker."

"No way!" said Rose heatedly. "The Holyhead Harpies are my favorite! After all, Albus's mum is Ginny Weasley- well, now Potter- you know, the famed Chaser?"

"Yeah, Mum was quite good in her day, I sometimes think she misses the sport now that she's retired," commented Albus. "She was so proud to see the Harpies win last year's league, she even convinced the editor of the Prophet to let her print a front-page story about it."

Scorpius grinned in approval. "Yes, the Harpies are very good too. Your mum was legendary as Chaser, Albus. My dad even admitted she was quite good, you know!"

Joy piped in. "Oh yes, your dad's Draco Malfoy!" she said. "I thought you looked familiar. You don't seem nearly as, well, _Dark_ , you know. Maybe you won't be in Slytherin after all."

"Oh, Uncle Harry always said the Malfoys weren't really Dark, just power-hungry is all," said Rose. "He and Draco are actually fairly friendly nowadays. Your grandmother saved Uncle Harry's life," she addressed Scorpius.

Scorpius grinned. "Glad you all think so. Some rough-looking descendants of Death Eaters tried to recruit me on the train- fifth or sixth years, I would say. Something about a plot to form a Dark Dueling Club in the Room of Requirement."

Joy wrinkled her nose, and Rose looked intrigued. Albus said, "A plot? Wonder if James knows about that... Although if he did he'd probably try to put a stop to it."

Scorpius's pronouncement left them all wondering, though they didn't have much time as the boats promptly bumped into the shoreline. Hagrid's voice once again carried over the water towards them.

"Outta tha boats, then, min' the mud there, Robbins, don' slip now... Tha's it, alrigh', line up 'ere and Professor McGonagall will be righ' out."

Rose, Scorpius, Joy and Albus scrambled out of the boat and into line with the rest of the first years just as the great front doors swung open and a tall, erect figure cast a shadow on the lawn in front of them.

"That's Professor McGonagall," said Rose admiringly.

Professor McGonagall strode down the steps and stopped at the front of the line. She performed a quick head count and shepherded the forty-something students up the steps and into the castle.

Once in the foyer, an extremely short, wizened old wizard who Rose identified as Professor Flitwick guided the students into a small chamber off the side of the Great Hall. He then stood before them with the help of a stool and announced in a rather squeaky voice that the Sorting was about to begin.

"First years! Attention! The Sorting is about to begin. Please quiet down! Now then, there are four Hogwarts Houses, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Each have noble backgrounds and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. Please wait quietly for the Sorting."

"Well," whispered Joy, "at least I know I won't be in Slytherin. I'm Muggle-born, you see."

Albus nodded. "I suppose there's a chance I won't be, I'm a half-blood. But still, I'm nervous..."

The rest of the students were whispering also, but the room quieted immediately as the door opened and Professor Flitwick led them into the Great Hall.


	3. To Be or Not to Be- Which House?

The students lined up in alphabetical order and stood facing away from the crowd and toward a small stool. Albus could feel the whole school's eyes on his back, and knew that James was staring at him as well, from the Gryffindor table.

They watched as Professor Flitwick placed on the stool an old, battered hat, which Albus knew to be the Sorting Hat. As everyone watched, a rip near its brim opened and the hat began to sing.

 _"Welcome, welcome, welcome students!_

 _Back from far and near!_

 _I daresay we're all quite glad_

 _To see you gathered here!_

 _A new year of adventure,_

 _Of learning, feasts and fun,_

 _Be careful, though, watch your back-_

 _If you see Filch, run!_

 _Silly, silly, jokes aside_

 _Your smiling faces ask_

 _Dear Sorting Hat, please open up_

 _And reveal to us your task!_

 _Alright, all, listen close,_

 _I'll reveal to you your fate_

 _Perch me on your head and see_

 _What lies ahead in wait!_

 _Bright Ravenclaws, gather round_

 _Listen close and hear_

 _How your founder prized her wit_

 _More than all else dear!_

 _Sweet Hufflepuff, the kindly witch,_

 _Prized hard work and fair play,_

 _And most of all, she believed,_

 _Loyalty will guide your way!_

 _Great Gryffindor, he knew his stuff,_

 _He had all the courage in the world,_

 _He prized bravery and might_

 _To him, nerve was a pearl!_

 _Sly old Slytherin, the snake_

 _Knew ambition was the key_

 _With great cunning, he believed,_

 _Would result in riches far as the eye can see!_

 _But never fear, dear first years,_

 _Trust in my choice, I pray,_

 _I'm never wrong after my song_

 _You'll thank me every day!"_

And with that, the Sorting Hat's brim closed and the Great Hall erupted in cheers. Albus was astounded at the Hat's wisdom. _I guess I just have to accept whatever happens,_ he thought.

Professor Flitwick tottered to stand behind the stool. After the Hall was quiet, he began calling names.

First was "Asombra, Eleanor!" who was Sorted into Ravenclaw. Next, "Appleby, Noah" was sorted into Hufflepuff, and "Braschini, Zolt" was Sorted into Slytherin. The first Gryffindor came in the D's, with "Douglas, Penelope", and the whole of Gryffindor table erupted in cheers. The list continued until "Lumier, Gregory" was Sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Malfoy, Scorpius" was called, and Scorpius climbed the steps with trembling hands. The Hat was placed on his head and stayed quiet for quite a long time, the suspense building, until finally-

"Gryffindor!"

"A hatstall!" shouted Flitwick, sending the Hall into a frenzy. Rose whispered to Albus that a hatstall was when the Sorting took more than five minutes, and it had not happened for more than a hundred years.

The Gryffindor table cheered heartily, but the Hall erupted in whispers. Albus knew this was due to the fact that Scorpius was descended from Death Eaters, and Dark wizards were traditionally Slytherins.

"Nott, Belladonna" was Sorted into Slytherin, and finally it was Albus's turn. He slowly climbed the steps to the stool and sat down. Flitwick placed the Sorting Hat on his head, and a voice erupted in his ears.

 _"Ah, another Potter, I see... Yes, all the makings of a brave soul, just like your parents and your namesake. Scared of Slytherin, though, are we? But you are named after a Slytherin... You could become a great, great wizard there, Albus... But no, better to put you where you belong, of course. Better be_ GRYFFINDOR!"

This last word was shouted for all to hear, and the Hall erupted with cheers yet again.

In a daze, Albus walked to the Gryffindor table to join his brother and Scorpius. Dimly he heard "Rees, Morgana" Sorted into Ravenclaw and "Tomlinson, Anna" into Hufflepuff.

As he sat next to Scorpius and a few people down diagonally from James, he heard "Verafina, Joy" get called and watched to see the pretty Metamorphmagus's Sorting.

The Hat shouted "Gryffindor!" after a minute of deliberation. Albus cheered with the rest of the table.

Next came Rose. She placed the Sorting Hat on her head and the brim immediately opened, then closed without making a sound. There were titters all around the hall at this unusual occurence.

Rose seemed to be concentrating very hard, and Scorpius whispered to Albus, "What's she doing, a Confundus Charm or something?" Albus laughed.

The Sorting Hat finally opened its brim again, and shouted, "Gryffindor!"

Albus leapt to his feet and clapped vehemently for Rose. She sat across from him next to Joy, and it seemed the Sorting was over.

Professor McGonagall raised her arms for silence as Flitwick carried away the stool and Sorting Hat.

"Dear pupils!" she boomed, her voice magically louder. "Please, dig in, and in the words of the late Albus Dumbledore, 'Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!'"

She lowered herself into her chair to the sounds of applause and the clink of silverware as platters of delicious food suddenly appeared on the tables.

Albus piled his plate high with mashed potatoes, steak, roast chicken, Brussels sprouts, rolls, and plenty of gravy. Between bites, he discussed the Sorting with his new friends.

"Rose, what was that opening-brim thing all about?" he asked his cousin.

"Oh, the Hat was going to put me in Ravenclaw," said Rose. "But I convinced it to hear me out and it did agree that Gryffindor was the better House for me."

Joy exclaimed, "The Hat almost put me in Hufflepuff!"

Scorpius and Albus said together, "It was considering Slytherin for me." They looked at each other and laughed, imagining how unhappy they would be at the gloomy table across from them.

After dessert, during which Albus gorged himself on bread pudding and trifle, McGonagall again raised her arms for silence and the food disappeared from the tables.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I am your Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, and there are a few announcements I need to make.

As per Mr. Filch, Fanged Frisbees are always banned, as well as any joke items from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Additionally, Dungbombs top the banned list again this year.

Nobody is to go into the Forbidden Forest, or perish at your own folly. One would also do well to avoid being caught out of bed in the corridors at night, for as I understand it, this year is a deep-clean year for Mr. Filch- and this grime has been piling up for ten years, so I wouldn't advise getting detention.

As for new staff members, Professor Stratarius will be joining us for Astronomy- here she indicated a wispy and yet good-natured looking witch wearing overlarge glasses- and we also welcome Professor Meadowwood-she indicated a slim, kindly woman with gray hair pulled back into a bun- of Care of Magical Creatures, whom Hagrid has appointed in his place, as his gamekeeper duties are keeping him quite busy these days.

And now, without further ado, you are released to your dormitories. Prefects, please gather your charges and guide them to your common rooms."

There was a smattering of applause and noise filled the air as people scraped their benches back and chattered to friends excitedly. Magnolia Weasley, Albus and Rose's cousin and Uncle George's daughter, shouted, "Gryffindor first years this way! Please follow me and Zachary to the common room!"

The group of four headed over to where the rest of the Gryffindor first years were congregating around the two prefects, then followed them out of the Great Hall and up a staircase.

Magnolia kept up a running commentary, telling them which staircases moved and which had vanishing steps. Eventually they reached a painting of a rather plump lady in an extravagant dress on the seventh floor, and Magnolia said pleasantly, "Hello again, Fat Lady! _Grandiose_."

"Quite right!" chuckled the Fat Lady obligingly, and swung open to admit the first years.

They all clambered through the portrait hole and took in the common room, adorned with crimson-and-gold banners and furniture.

Albus was so tired he could hardly see straight. He and Scorpius immediately bade goodnight to the rest of the common room and hurried upstairs to the third landing of the spiral staircase, labeled "First Years".

Inside were five four-poster beds in Gryffindor colors and all their luggage. Scorpius and Albus chose beds next to each other, and Albus let Juno out of her basket and put out a bowl of food and water for her. She immediately leapt onto Albus's bed and curled up on the end.

Scorpius, meanwhile, let his screech owl, Merlin, out the window after a handful of owl nuts.

They were so exhausted that they collapsed in their beds after fumbling on pajamas, and soon fell fast asleep.


	4. Class Begins

The first day of classes, Albus and Scorpius woke up twenty minutes late. They hurriedly threw on their robes and glanced at the schedule that Flitwick had distributed last night.

"Ugh, rotten luck!" cried Scorpius. "I've heard Professor Aviola is the strictest teacher. Ah well, we'd best be off to Transfiguration. And I was so looking forward to the first breakfast in the Great Hall!"

On their way out of the Gryffindor common room, they bumped into Victoire, Albus's cousin and Bill Weasley's daughter.

"Victoire!" called Albus. "You're Head Girl, right?"  
"Yes...?" said Victoire in her lilting almost-French accent. "What of it?"  
"How do you get to Professor Aviola's classroom? Quick! Know any shortcuts?"

Just as Victoire opened her mouth to tell them off for running late, James butted in, appearing suddenly behind Scorpius.  
"Someone say shortcuts? Come on Albus, I'm headed to Charms and it's near Transfiguration. I'll show ya, but you gotta keep up. I'm running late too."

Together, the two younger boys darted out of the common room, following James and lugging their bags. Albus and Scorpius ran after James through a door pretending to be a wall, down three flights of stone steps, out from behind a tapestry, along to the fourth-floor landing and down two more flights of moving staircases until, sprinting, they reached the grand staircase which would lead them to the first-floor Transfiguration classroom.

"Bye, bro! Gotta get to Charms. Good luck with Aviola!" James called after them as they rushed down the staircase and ran across the courtyard to Transfiguration.

They sidled through the closing door just as the last student filed in, and breathed a sigh of relief when they realized that they were right on time.

Rose and Joy were, of course, sitting in the very front row, and Scorpius and Albus filed into the last seats in the classroom, which were in the second row and directly behind them.

Professor Aviola, a young witch with narrow gray eyes and deep brown hair cut in a short, blunt bob, stood beside a simple wooden desk at the front of the class. She clapped her hands twice for order, and the general noise which had filled the room a second before vanished.

She spoke in a cold, clear voice. "Transfiguration is not a class to be taken lightly. One can learn how to turn a rock into a cozy armchair or an enemy into a lizard. But beware: make a mistake, and that friend you just turned into a ferret may be stuck between beings forever, half rodent, half human." At this, the class whispered amongst themselves, shocked.

"Now then," Professor Aviola continued briskly, "First you will be learning the standard wand theory used for most of the simple, beginner Transfiguration spells. Wands out!"

There was a rustle as the class fumbled in their bags for wands. Albus was so jittery that he accidentally shot one or two red sparks out of the end of his wand, and glanced around nervously to see if anyone had noticed. No one seemed to.

"The first thing to know about any magic is that your mind must be sufficiently concentrated on the task at hand, Miss Asombra" - a curly-haired Ravenclaw blushed and turned away from her friend - "and you must visualize quite clearly what you wish to happen.

There are also four distinct basic wand movements, which are, the flick, the swish, the slash, and the twirl. I will now demonstrate proper use of the flick in Transfiguring a match into a needle."

So the class continued on, first with the students practicing wand motions first, then practicing on their own matches.

Albus soon discovered that he did not have a natural gift for Transfiguration. By the end of class, Rose had made her match go all pointy, while Joy had turned hers silver. Professor Aviola rewarded both of them with ten points each.

Scorpius caught up with Albus as the class filed out of the room. "Tricky stuff, magic, huh?" he said. "Dad and Mum always make it look so easy, you know, Conjuring a blanket when I'm cold or Transfiguring a red sock into a red hat."

"Yeah," sighed Albus. "My mum's really good at Transfiguration and Charms. She does a mean Bat Bogey Hex, but she's always refused to show me, Lily or James how to do it. My dad, 'course, is really good at Defense Against the Dark Arts and protective enchantments."

"Wonder what we'll be good at," Joy remarked as she and Rose joined the conversation. "Anyway, we'd better get to Potions, don't you think?"

Once in the dungeons, the class met Professor Manziani, a barefooted young woman with long black hair and a busy yet brilliant quality about her. She was quite the absent-minded professor, and almost set Lucas Finnigan's robe sleeve on fire.

Albus soon discovered that he had a knack for potion-making. He saw through the instructions in their textbook and could see methods that would lead to a more effective potion.

Professor Manziani soon noticed this, and praised Albus on his near-perfect Hiccupping Solution.

That night, after Charms and a hearty supper in the Great Hall, the students settled in to get started on their homework for the week.

"D'you think just simply putting 'They all make things fly' will suffice for Flitwick's essay on the differences between _Wingardium leviosa_ , _Locomotor_ , and _Mobilarbus_?" asked Scorpius.

"Albus, come help me with Manziani's essay on the twelve uses of dragon's blood," requested Rose.

Joy laughed. "He better know, seeing as he's named after the wizard who discovered those uses!"

"Really?" said Albus in amazement. "I didn't know Dumbledore was such an accomplished scholar!"

"Do you know anything about Dumbledore?" asked Joy with a puzzled expression on her face. "I mean, you probably only know what your father told you, that he was a great and powerful wizard and an even better man. But you should really borrow his biography from me! Here."

Joy thrust a sleek volume into Albus's arms. On the front was a picture of Albus's namesake, sitting in a comfortable armchair and reading a book. He glanced up at Albus, then put down his book and waved in surprise, as if he knew that they shared a connection.

"Thanks, Joy," said Albus, tempted to skip working ahead and start the book. "Need any help on your dragon-blood essay?"

Joy shook her head, so Albus reluctantly put aside the book and went over to help Rose with her essay. Scorpius continued to groan and flip pages randomly, and they all set to work.

The common room fire was crackling softly, and it was around two hours later when Scorpius finally convinced them to give the homework a rest.

"Besides," he said, "those essays aren't due till later in the week. Let's relax a little before bed!" He produced a box of Cauldron Cakes and sweets from Sugarplum's in Diagon Alley. Albus grabbed a chocolate truffle, then picked up his quill again and pulled out a spare piece of parchment.

Excited to use his new color-change ink that his parents had sent him during morning post (Homer, the family owl, had delivered it during one of the break times instead because he'd missed breakfast), he scribbled a letter to his parents.

 _Dear Mum and Dad,_ he wrote.

 _Hogwarts is so much fun! You probably already know I was Sorted into Gryffindor, but I didn't have time to write on the first night. Way too tired!_

 _Anyway, you were right, Dad. The Sorting Hat does take your choice into account- Scorpius Malfoy is in Gryffindor too! Rose and I have become friends with him and another girl named Joy Verafina, a Muggle-born. She's brilliant, a Metamorphmagus! Bet that was a nasty shock to her parents and to the hospital when her hair started changing color when she was born._

 _Potions is great, I think I've really got a knack for it. Professor Manziani told me my Hiccupping Solution was near perfect, and awarded Gryffindor ten points!_

 _Could you please send me a bag of Carroll's Curious Cat Food? Juno got into the food bowl of another Gryffindor cat, and she seems to really like it._

 _Love, Albus._

 _P.S., Joy loaned me the biography of Albus Dumbledore- should be interesting to learn more about my namesake!_


End file.
